Bengals Statistics

Browns Statistics

View SlideshowRequest to buy this photoMatt York | ASSOCIATED PRESSSeahawks quarterback Russell Wilson delivers the customary Gatorade shower to coach Pete Carroll in the final moments of the game.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Malcolm Smith always was ready to step in when the Seattle Seahawks
needed him.

Now he’s only the third linebacker in NFL history to earn Super Bowl MVP honors.

Smith returned an interception of regular-season MVP Peyton Manning 69 yards for a touchdown in
the first half, recovered a fumble in the second half and was part of a dominating defensive
performance by Seattle during its 43-8 victory over the Denver Broncos last night.

“I woke up jumping, bouncing,” Smith said when presented with a truck for being named MVP amid
the confetti-strewn field after the game. “It turned out great for us tonight.”

Sure did. And it was rather appropriate that a member of Seattle’s league-leading defense would
be the MVP, considering the way the Seahawks shut down Manning and Denver’s record-breaking
offense, forcing four turnovers and holding the Broncos scoreless until the last play of the third
quarter.

Smith joined Ray Lewis of Baltimore in 2001 and Chuck Howley of Dallas in 1971 as the only
linebackers to be picked as the top player in a Super Bowl. Only eight of 48 Super Bowls have ended
with a defensive player getting the honor.

In a bizarre moment, an unidentified man jumped onto the podium during Smith’s postgame
interview, grabbed the microphone and said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were “perpetrated by
people with your own government.”

Smith sat dumbfounded when the man suddenly appeared from his right.

The man said: “Investigate 9/11. 9/11 was perpetrated by your own government.”

He quickly walked away, and security converged on him. It wasn’t immediately clear whether he
was taken into custody.

Smith asked those in the room, “Is everyone was all right?” and continued taking questions from
reporters.

Hardly frigid

The first cold-weather Super Bowl actually was pretty warm.

After a year’s worth of speculation over the weather, the conditions at kickoff were downright
idyllic: 49 degrees and partly cloudy.

It’s certainly not what league owners expected in 2010 when they awarded the game to East
Rutherford. The fears that snow, ice and frigid temperatures would detract from the game normally
held in either warm-weather cities or in a dome proved unfounded — at least by a day.

Snow, up to 6 inches, is forecast for today.

Some two hours before kickoff, fans stood in the stands wearing Broncos and Seahawks jerseys,
holding their jackets or hanging them over seats.

In the end, it was only the third-coldest Super Bowl in history. The coldest kickoff temperature
in history was 39 degrees at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans for Super Bowl VI, when Dallas beat
Miami 24-3.

Safety in numbers

Just 12 seconds into the game, the Broncos were already trailing after a bizarre, clumsy
sequence. It set a record — and the tone for the game.

The Broncos’ first play from scrimmage started out looking like any other for Denver. There was
Manning barking out his calls, but before he could even finish, center Manny Ramirez snapped the
ball, which sailed past the unprepared quarterback and into the end zone. Knowshon Moreno fell on
the ball to keep Seattle from scoring a touchdown, but it was still a safety and a 2-0 lead for the
Seahawks.

This was the third straight Super Bowl with a safety.

It also was the fastest score in Super Bowl history. The previous record was 14 seconds on Devin
Hester’s return of the opening kickoff for a touchdown for the Bears in 2007 — also against
Manning. That time, Manning soon led his Indianapolis Colts back into the lead, and eventually to a
29-17 victory.

Record in defeat

It sounds like great news for the Broncos: Manning and receiver Demaryius Thomas set Super Bowl
offensive records.

But all those numbers did little against the Seahawks, most coming after Seattle was firmly in
control.

The previous receptions mark was 11, shared by four players: Cincinnati’s Dan Ross (1982 against
San Francisco), the 49ers’ Jerry Rice (1989 against the Bengals), and New England’s Deion Branch
(2005 against Philadelphia) and Wes Welker (2008 against the New York Giants).